Google On The Verge Of Android Wearables SDK Release

Google will release an Android software development kit (SDK) for wearable-computing devices by the end of the month, the company’s senior vice president, Sundar Pichai, announced over the weekend during the South by Southwest conference in Austin, Texas.

Pichai, who runs Google’s Android and Chrome businesses, also discussed a wide variety of other topics during his hour-long talk, including how Google envisions its two operating systems being rolled out worldwide, and the vast market potential for its mobile operating system beyond smartphones and tablet devices.

This could include cars and other vehicles, sensors, fitness devices and a variety of other technologies for which Google’s Android wearables SDK is an important first step, Pichai said.

Analysts have estimated the market for wearable computers could reach $20 billion by 2016.

But Google knows that mobile phones still represent an enormous growth opportunity, said Pichai as he described the full range of phones that could help the company reach its next billion users.

For instance, Google has already sold millions of its Chromecast devices, which let users stream video from a mobile device to a television, he said.

The device, which launched initially in the US, will soon be rolled out internationally within weeks, Pichai said.

Google recently released a Chromecast SDK, for which thousands of developers have already registered.

Pichai also spoke briefly about Google’s Project Ara, an internal project for advanced research, saying initiative is focused on ideas that are advanced, but which can be rapidly commercialized.